Measuring apparatus having inverted pendulum indicator



y 27, 1952 w. J. B. JANSEN 2,598,552

MEASURING APPARATUS HAVING INVERTED PENDULUM INDICATOR Filed NOV. 5, 1946 2 SI-lEETS-SHEET l vE/v role,-

May 27, 195 w. J. B. JANSEN MEASURING APPARATUS HAVING INVERTED PENDULUM INDICATOR 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Nov. 5, 1946 V 4 awa /47% Arrwz Eys.

Patented May 27, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,598,552 Messnnseei mnvs VERTED PENDULUM INDICATOR Willem j. Jensen, Haaile'nn Netherlands mimics semis? s.. 4s .;s ise aim" In Switz' 10 Claims.

This invention relates to measuring a paratus, and particularly to a aratus for measuring small angular or linear displacements. I

An object of the invention is to provide mess: uring apparatus" in which an indicating member is supported within a casing for angular move ment about a horizontal axis located below the center of gravity of the indicating member. and a spring opposes angular, displacement oi the indicating member whenthe casing is tilted, the arrangement being such that the indicating member displacement is substantially greater than the angular displacement of the casing}. An object is to provide measuring apparatus" of the type stated in which the casing forms a damp' ing chamber and the indicating ni'e'n'iber itself constitutes the damping vane. objectis to provide measuring apparatus of the pe dulum type in which a pivotally supported member con stitutes an inverted pendulum element; a amp; ing vane and a pointer for cooperation with a graduated scale. A further object is to provide measuring apparatus of the comparator gage type in which a casing is moved angularly by a gage tip which contacts a work piece, and' indi' cating mechanism within the casing amplifies the angular movement oi the casing. I

These and other ob ect-send dvantages of the invention will be apparentii' the folio specification when taken with the accompanying drawings in which; p

Fig. 1 is a front elevation'of a measuring ap paratus embodying the inventiom with some parts shown in section as seenon the plane of line l--I ofFig. 2; H A r Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the measure ing apparatus as seen on the plane of line 2"-2 ofFigl; n v V Fig. 3 is a sectional View similar to Fig. Ibiitf showing the apparatus inclined clockwise at an anglea; V

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary sec showing other embodiment pr'tne mv tion";

Fig. 6' is an elevation, with'pa'fts iii-section on line 66 of Fig. 7, of a-comparatorgage embody ing theinvention; 7 v g t N Fig. '7 is a vertical section as sen-o'n-the plane of line of Fig. 6'; W

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section as seen on the plane of line 88 of Fig. 6; v H z p Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of the spring mounting of the indicating" member. the parts being shown on an e lar ed scale andas seen in section on line 9--' '9 of Fig.1; and

Fig. 10 is an exploded fragmentary elevationof the mounting, with some parts in section:

land November 1945 2 v Figs. 1 te'4 inc1iisive; tiie reference niimer ai i identifies a. asing whichis providedat its upper end witl i a cover- 2" and frontplate 3 or arcuate form. The front plate has an arcuate opening and glass window 4 in frontoi a grailuated scale 5 which; is cemented or otherwi e mounted on the cover 2. The cooperating pointer 6 is preferably n integral p rt or an 111* difca'ting" member 1 which is a plate or enerally rectangular fgrni having a; shaft B' ittehding tnr'oiigii annexed ta lower en Bearings 9, f f he har are w en m e mm. an back walls of the casing I, the bearing it bein adjustable tof rovide; a i lati i inet n iree pivotal support for the shaft' 8" and indicating m er a MN m.

The axis of the shaft 8" is horizontal when the apparatus is in use, and the member 1 acts as an t m nd m as. s n e of g is above tneiexi oi shaft a; he n ei end of a s e prin (,1 is wr d id a hu 1 whe fixed w the shaft 8,; and the out r;end q: the Spring" is" secured to a stud i3 which exten s through" and is angularly adjustablealong an arcuate slot in the lower en or the casing I. g T e' n ieatingnieinber Us reiativ lywide, as measured parane to the axis or shart a, an its s is 9 r l t r es c o z 0.11 w casing that oniya snian learance is left between the" i ati'ng member and the walls oi; t ecasing, e Fig. The indi'atmg member] i1 $i fi i nema ane t e uq i e ciliation ortne di'ati ri' lilfilhr 1 and painter 5 when the; ates is Subjected to" sharp shocks'and/or'cont nuous vibration,-

v w The ap aratus as" described my bejeinpi'oyed' as a clin'ometer or mechanic's level when secured to a straight-edge b ase as' an inclinonieter when mounted on an automobile; as the indicator for recision balances; o -1 as a gage to can rate a" series of work pies A hracket l'4' may be solder or otherwis sec red to the rearwan of th easing- I for attac j ng' the measuring apparatusto a Base or to'the' instrument p'a'fiei of avehicle; A g a v The apparatus operatesin the follow" ner' to pro'vide an" angular pointer-f, dis ac'nient along the'scale i whicliis am lifications: the angular displace eiit oilthe casing I about the a y an axis paraneite theaxjis or a v v I I 8. apparatiis is first checked by turning theorising to its normal vertieeiosi tion; as in Fig. 1', with" the axis of the shaft 8 nenz ntar an thegei-o cale graduation directly" abovethat'a'lizis he-pointer; enemas at the center-here mark-cf the Scale 5 and, if' necessary.

the anchor stud I3 of spring I! is adjusted to aline the pointer with the zero mark. This zero corrector adjustment brings the center of gravity of the indicating system into the vertical plane of the axis of shaft 8, and therefore the weight of the indicating member does not tendto rotate the member about the axis of shaft 8. The spring I I is unstressed in this normal zero condition of the apparatus. If the casing I is turned clockwise through a small angle a, the spring I I is stressed and develops a torque which initiates a clockwise movement of the indicating member 1 out of the dead-center position. The member w duced couple which effects a further'displace ment of the member 'I which is opposed by a. v

balancing couple developed by the spring II. The pointer 6 is quickly displaced to a stable position along the-scale plate 5 as overswing and vibration are prevented by the self-damping of the member 1 which has a relatively. close fit in the casing I.

, The angular displacement b of the pointer is substantially greater than the angular displace.- ment (1 of the casing I, and the amplification factor is determined by the weight of the pointer 6 and/member I, the lever arm through which that weight acts, i. e. the distance between the center of gravity of the indicating system and the axis of the shaft 8, and the strength or displacement-torque characteristic of the spring I I. Thesevalues may be selected in various relationships to obtain the amplification factor which is desired for the particular measuring apparatus. I

'Other formsof pivotal mountings for the indicating member I may be used, for example a knife-edge support or ball hearings, or as shown in Fig. 4, the member 1 maybe supported by the balancing spring II. The inner end of the spring isfsecured to hub I2 which is fixed to the lower endof the member I by a stud or screw of the base I5. The gage tip 2I is pressed towards the gage rod I9 by a spring 23 which is seated between the housing wall and a presser plate 24 which is secured to the gage tip by a friction fit or a set-screw, not shown. The gage tip may-be manually retracted by a knob 25 for the insertion and removal of the work pieces which are to be measured. The presser plate 24 is of rectangular shape and its lower end extends through a slot 24' in the base I5 to prevent angular movement of the plate.

" The presser plate 24 is of hard steel and has a thin upper lip for engagement with a rocker plate 26 which is supported, and preferably by journals 26"integral with the plate 26, mounted in the front and rear walls of the housing 22. Theaxis of rocking movement of the plate 26 is above the lip of the presser plate 25, and the rocking plate is therefore turned counterclockwise when engaged by the presser plate upon movement of the'gage tipfiZI to the right. The

casing 21 of an angle measuring device is rigid-v 1y mounted upon the rocking plate 26 to provide a greatly amplified indication of angular movements of the rocking. plate which correspond to small variations in fthethickness of the work pieces, for example to thickness variations of the order of a few thousandths of an inch.

As shown in Fig. 6, the base of the casing 2'! is slotted'to fitupon the upper end of the rocking plate 26, andscrews 28 are threaded into the base to clamp the casing'to the plate.. Removable plugsl29 areprovided'in the end wall of thehousing 22 to permit access to the clamp scrws. stop. screws 30, '3I ,extend through the side walls of the housing 22'for limiting the rocking'movement of the. casing 21, or both screws may be adjusted into engagement with the casing when the apparatus'is to be moved from one point to another in the'shop. A spiral compression spring 32 is arranged about the stop screw and .urges the casing clockwise towards the stop screw 3|. I

The indicating m'ember'33 is a generally rectangular plate which -has'a relatively close fit within the casing 21 to. serve as a damping vane aswell as an inverted pendulum which is supported for movement about an axis parallel to or brazed to-the' upper forward face of the 'indi-' cating member 'I,'and is bent rearwardly to extend over the scale plate. I

The described apparatus may be employed to advantage in a .comparator gage as the motion-- multiplying action is obtained without the use of gear trains or lever systems. A comparator gage in which the amplification is obtained in accordance with this invention combines the advantages of small size, economical construction, high sensitivity and high accuracy. I

As shown in Figs. 6. '7 and 8, the comparator gage includes a base I5 on which a work table I5 is supported for vertical adjustment, the table being preferably carried by a post I! which is threaded into the base. A relatively fixed gage rod I8 is slidably mounted in a flange I9 which extends upwardly fromone side of the base I5, and the rod is secured .tothe fiange by a clamp screw 20 to serve as a stopfor a work piece W.

The movable gagetip -2I is. a rod which is slid a-L bly supported in a housing 22 at the other side the axis about which the plate 26 rocks. -The member 33 is notched at its upper end toprovide a pointer'34 and to clear the scale plate 35 which is fixed to the casing 21.

The inverted pendulum member 33 ispreferably mounted directly upon the balance spring, as shown in Figs. '7, 9 and 10. The cross-bar, of the spring member is soldered or brazed tothe lower end of .the indicating member 33,. and

. the side sections 31, 31" of the spring are spiral- 1y coiled and secured to studs 38, 38'. The reduced diameter outer ends of the studs38, 38' are threaded and extendthrough alinedopenings in the front andcrear walls, respectively, of the casing. The front wall of the casing 21 is removable to permit the assembly of the indicating member and the spring within the casing, and the front' wall is detachably secured to.the-casing by any appropriate means, not shown. The outer end of each stud is provided with a kerf or 'other non-circular recess to receive a screwdriver or tool for preventing-rotation of. the stud Iwhen washers 39,39 and nuts 49, 4.0, areapplied to secure the stud. infthe casingwall. The. washer 39 is a spring washer which. is compressed to such extent thatthe1s'tud'38 is 'frictionally held against angular movement by shock and vibration but may be adjusted angularly by a screwdriver to set the pointer 34 at the zero scale grad-g uation when the casing 21 is in its normal zero position. The screwdriver or tool for making this zero correction is introduced through an opening in the front wall of the housing 22, and this opening is normally closed by a threaded plug 4 I. A similar arrangement may be provided for the rear stud 38' but, in general, adequate zero correction may be had by adjusting only one ofthe coil springs. It therefore is preferable to use a lockwasher 39' and clamp the stud 33 firmly in the rear wall of the casing 21.

The comparator gage is adjusted for measuring a series of work pieces W by turning the stop screw 3f inwardly to rock the casing 2| into its normal zero position, i, e., to set the zero scale graduation directly over the axis of the studs 38, 38' and, if necessary, turning the stud 38 to bring the pointer 3a to the zero scale mark. The stop screw 3! is backed off, and an accurately sized work piece, or a precision gage block of the desired standard thickness, is then placed upon the work table I6 between the relatively stationary gage rod is and the movable gage tip 24. The gage rod is is adjusted to such position that the pointer stands at the center zero scale graduation, and is clamped in that position by the screw 26. The gage tip 21 is then drawn back, thereby permitting spring 32 to rock the casing 21 clock wise into contact with the stop 3|, the standard or gage block removed, and a work piece W placed on the table. On release of the knob 25, the gage tip 2! is moved into engagement with the work piece W by the spring 23 and the presser plate 24 engages the rocker plate 26 to rock the same counterclockwise through an angle which is determined by the position of the gage tip 2|, i. e. by the thickness of the work piece W. If the work piece is accurately sized, the casing 21 will b returned to normal zero position and the pointer 35- will aline with the zero mark of the scale 35. The angular displacement of the casing 21, and the corresponding amplified displacement of the pointer 3-4, will be counterclockwise if the work piece under measurement is of less thickness than the desired value, and clockwise if the work piece is of excess thickness.

The particular work piec W which is illustrated in Fig. 6 is somewhat thicker than the preselected standard thickness'as the pointer 34 is one and a half graduations clockwise from the zero center mark of scale 35. The end markings of the scale 35 may represent the maximum allowable tolerance or preferably, as shown in Fig. 6, the scale 35 is graduated in absolute values of length. The measuring range of the illustrated scale 36 is $0.1 mm, and each graduation corresponds to 0.01 mm. The work piece W of Fig. 6 is therefore oversize by 0.015 mm. The amplification factor of the illustrated indicating assembly is as the casing displacement of :1.5 results in a pointer displacement of The amplification factor depends upon the torque-angular displacement characteristics of the inverted pendulum member 33 and of the balancing springs 31, 31', as stated above with reference to the previously described embodiments, and a further amplification depends upon the lever arm of the presser plate 24, i. e. upon the spacing of the contact lip of the presser plate 2 from the pivotal axis of the rocking plate 26. This latter amplification is fixed by the mechanical construction of the gage tip 2!, presser plate 24 and rocking plate 26, but the overall amplification factor of the comparator gage may be varied by providing a plurality of invertedfpendulum clinometers, of different measuring sensitivity, for use with a comparator base assembly. For example, if the manufacturing tolerance is 10.2 millimeter, a clinometer with a lower amplification factor of 5 to 1 may be substituted for the casing 21 and enclosed measuring system of Figs. 6 tail. 1

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular apparatus. herein shown and described as various changes may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim 1. Measuring apparatus of the type comprising a casing adapted to be tilted about a horizontal axis, an indicating member within said casing andjmeans pivotally mounting the same for angulgr movement about ahorizontal axis below the center of gravity of the indicating member, balance spring means having one end connected to said indicating member, and means supporting the other end of said balance sprin means on said casing to oppose angular movement of said indicating member by gravity; characterized by the fact that said spring means constitutes said means supporting said indicating member for angular movement about a horizontal axis.

2. Measuring apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein a scale is carried by said casing, and said supporting means is adjustable on said casing to determine the position of said indicating member along said scale when said casing is in normal zero position,

3. Measuring apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said casing includes an arcuate portion substantially concentric with the horizontal axis of said indicating member, and said supporting means is secured to and angularly adjustable on said arcuate portion of the casing.

4. Measuring apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said spring means is a spiral form and has its inner end secured to said indicating member and its outer end fixed to said supporting means.

5. Measuring apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said spring means is a spiral form and has its outer end secured to said indicating member and its inner end fixed to said supporting means.

6. Measuring apparatus as recited in claim 1, in combination with means for damping oscillation of said indicating member upon a tilting movement of said casing.

7. In a comparator gage, the combination with a base, and a gage tip supported on said base for movement into contact with a work piece, of a casing and means supportin the same on said base for rocking movement about a horizontal axis, spring means urging said casing angularly in one direction, cooperating means on said gage tip and said casing for moving said casing angularly in the opposite direction against the force exerted by said spring means on movement of said gage tip into contact with a work piece, an inverted pendulum member mounted within said casing for movement about a horizontal axis, a graduated scale carried by said casing, a pointer movable along said graduated scale by said pendulum, and a balance spring connected between said casing and said pendulum to oppose gravity-produced movement of said pendulum member.

8. In a comparator gage, the combination with r was a base, a gage tip supported on said base for rectilinear movement, a presser plate on said gage tip, and a casing and means supporting the same for angular movement about a horizontal axis by said presser plate, of motion-multiplying indicating mechanism within said casing comprising a graduated scale member and a cooperating indicating member, and means supporting one of said members on said casing for angular movement about a horizontal axisby gravity in response to angular movement of said casing, the other member being carried by the casing.

9. In a comparator gage, the combination with a base, a gage tip supported on said bas for rectilinear movement, a presser plate on said gage tip, a casing, and means supporting the casing for angular movement about a horizontal axis by said presser plate; of a motion-multiplying indicating mechanism comprising a, graduated scale carried by the casing, an inverted pendulum within said casing supported for angular movement about a horizontal axis below its center of gravity, an indicating member carried by said inverted pendulum for cooperation with said graduated scale, and a balance spring opposing angular movement of said inverted pendulum member by gravity. 10. In a comparator gage, the invention-as recited in claim 9, wherein said balance spring com r 8 r prises a spiral spring having one end secured to said casing and its other end secured to saidinverted'pendulum, said spring constituting per se means supporting said inverted pendulum and indicating member for angular movement about a horizontal axis.

' 'WILLEM J. B. JANSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 353,561 Hurst Nov. 30, 1886 447,276 Brayton Feb. 24, 1891 496,272 Miebach Apr. 25, 1893 523,404 Meady July 24, 1894 526,105 Hollister Sept. 18, 1894 1,154,396 Hayot Sept. 21, 1915 1,264,910 Elsasser May 7, 1918 1,300,513 Taylor Apr. 15, 1919 1,661,214 Carpenter Mar. 6, 1928 1,708,900 Roller Apr. 9, 1929 1,801,812 Hill Apr. 21, 1931 2,254,242 Righi Sept. 2, 1941 2,264,640 Powers Dec. 2, 1941 2,420,711 Look May 20, 1947 

